Freelance Journalist, Blogger, Avid Enthusiast

In the trailer for the new movie “Birdemic: Shock and Terror,” the film’s hero celebrates a million-dollar deal with a high-five from a co-worker. That money is an achievement, a goal people think about endlessly.

It’s something recent DePaul University graduate Patrick Dowell ponders from time to time. And Dowell knows just what he’ll do with that cash.

“I just wish I had one-million dollars: I’d buy every bad movie ever made if I could,” Dowell says.

I’ve been interested in cult films since my friend Asher took me to see a midnight screening of “Evil Dead 2.” Within that large cult film community rests a smaller body of movie fans who enjoy those films with inherent bad qualities, and a lot of bad qualities to boot. This scene has gotten a lot of attention lately, so I set out to write about the community as it exists in Chicago.

A big thanks goes out to all who were involved in the process, especially those who gave me the time to interview them: Tommy Wiseau (of “The Room”), James Nguyen (“Birdemic”), DJs Intel and Popstatic, Pat Dowell, Michael Rousselet (“5-Second Films”), Peter Debruge (Variety writer), Brian Andreotti (Music Box program director), John Wilson, and a number of other folks. And a big thanks goes out to Josh Karp for guiding me through the article and New City for publishing it as a cover story.